This Black-owned indie brand made $1 million in 8 minutes

In a time when major retailers are filing for bankruptcy and scrounging to entice consumers to shop, one 20-year-old beauty entrepreneur has proven that people are still looking to support indie brands. Case in point: MoonXCosmetics, a Black-owned handmade vegan skincare line, made $1 million in eight minutes.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Mariee Revere, the CEO and founder of the brand, took to Twitter to announce the major milestone that she made $1 million in eight minutes off of what she said would be a “million-dollar restock.”

“1 million in 8 minutes! thank you god and thank you to everyone who supported me! i had to cut the site 26 minutes due to me reaching 20k + orders! thank you so much!” Revere said via Twitter.

On Instagram, the brand shared an in-real-time video of crossing the million-dollar threshold. Needless to say, it was quite a moment for all watching.

In a follow-up post, Revere thanked all for shopping the latest restock, noting that the goals were achieved “with the support of all of you. I did not do this alone, and for that, I am forever grateful.”

She also noted that her brand was not a pop-up overnight but rather a labor of love for three years. “MoonXCosmetics, LLC, isn’t a solo project, it only succeeds given how well it performs and because of how much we love our supporters,” she added. “This is a community that we’re building, one for the history books and I couldn’t have asked for better customer bases, better support and a better appreciation for all of the hard work my team and I put in.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that social media has pulled up and turned out for up-and-coming indie brands. Just last year, Reynell Steward, otherwise known as Supa Cent, sold $1 million in revenue in under two hours during her 60% off Cyber Monday sale.

She told BET, “The secret sauce is engaging with your followers. I engage with all my fans, I engage with everyone. Whoever comes to my page, I engage with them! I promote a lot and I’m involved with the people that spend money with me!”

Of course, these numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise given the fact that Black beauty entrepreneurship is nothing new. The early 1900s saw the emergence of Madame C.J. Walker becoming a *real* self-made millionaire thanks to a haircare line that treated ailments and hair concerns in the community.

This constant desire for innovation and creating solutions is what has allowed so many startups to emerge and thrive in challenging markets. Black consumers, especially, have the spending power that is unparalleled in the market, especially when it comes to style and beauty purchases.

Perhaps that’s why in 2018, a report from Nielsen showed that for ethnic hair and beauty aids, Black consumers made up 85.6 percent of the $63.5 million spent. The numbers have only grown to show that Black consumers not only support emerging markets but that the power behind their dollars is one that can not be flagrantly ignored by marketers.

“Our research shows that Black consumer choices have a ‘cool factor’ that has created a halo effect, influencing not just consumers of color but the mainstream as well,” Cheryl Grace, Senior Vice President of U.S. Strategic Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement, Nielsen, told Fortune in 2018. “These figures show that investment by multinational conglomerates in R&D to develop products and marketing that appeal to diverse consumers is, indeed, paying off handsomely.”

Undeniably, beauty brands will have to navigate differently due to the current landscape of retail and e-commerce, but hope is certainly not lost. Entrepreneurs and the consumers that support them can find their footing even in troubling times, and e-commerce is getting a serious facelift every single day.